Brexit

Working against an extreme Brexit - in Oxford’s interests

As the Labour MEP for South East England, Anneliese campaigned for Britain to remain in the European Union. Since the referendum, she has been working hard to stop the government from pursuing its extreme, chaotic version of Brexit. She worked with other Labour MPs to bind the Prime Minister to giving the House of Commons a 'meaningful vote' on the deal. And as a shadow treasury minister, she has been taking the government to task on its failure to commit itself to retaining EU standards and procedures when it comes to customs and money laundering, as well as on a variety of other areas. Anneliese has also been working to support the large numbers of Oxford East residents who are directly impacted by Brexit, not least our many EU citizens. You can find some examples of Anneliese's work on Brexit on this page (as well as by consulting her Facebook and Twitter feeds).

Anneliese has worked hard to try and push the government away from its ideological rejection of customs union with the EU, speaking no less than 59 times on the Customs Bill. As well as a variety of other issues, Anneliese has highlighted the woeful level of preparation by government for new customs arrangements [Debate on Customs Bill, 01 Feb 18 – Hansard]; and how the Conservative government is using Brexit as an excuse to downgrade protections for British manufacturers.

Anneliese was also one of the most active MPs on the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill, which the government has put forward in order to create (in its words) an independent approach to sanctions and money laundering. Anneliese spoke 42 times on the bill, pointing out where the British government was destined to trail behind EU advances, and why it should cooperate with the EU on issues like sanctions where coordinated action is far more effective. [Watch Anneliese take Boris Johnson to task on this issue here].

Anneliese has repeatedly argued the case against extreme Brexit in the local and national broadcast media, including on BBC Oxford, JackFM, regional television including the BBC's Sunday Politics and ITV Meridian's 'The Last Word', and national media including the BBC's Daily Politics and Westminster Hour, Sky News and Channel Four News. [You can view Anneliese’s BBC interviews here]

Back home: Brexit and Oxford East

Anneliese has frequently highlighted the negative consequences of an extreme Brexit for Oxford East's residents, businesses and organisations, not least our two great universities. She has met with dozens of different local groups, businesses and individuals to hear their views about the potential impact of Brexit. This has covered the impact of Brexit on issues as diverse as research funding, access to research data, international students, manufacturing (not least the local Mini plant), the local environment, EU citizens' rights, racism and xenophobia, working rights, trade deals, aid policy and a number of other areas. Anneliese has also helped several EU nationals facing the possibility of separation from their families after the referendum. She also worked to bring Labour's shadow Industrial secretary (Chi Onwurah) and Brexit secretary (Keir Starmer) to Oxford, to discuss local people's concerns in this and other areas.